


Owen from Torchwood

by thecouchwitch



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Angst, Comedy, M/M, Pre-Movie(s), Teen for language, lampshading, potential for a relationship but still just at the sexual tension/hate stage, these boys are hopeless i swear to god and it makes me ship them more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 06:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2572259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecouchwitch/pseuds/thecouchwitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newt notices Hermann's new hairstyle makes him look like Owen from Torchwood and banter ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Owen from Torchwood

**Author's Note:**

> My first Pacific Rim fic! Now, I am certainly a fan of Doctor Who myself, but I did my best to make the fic about two guys discussing their like for it rather than just me using two characters to proclaim my love for it, forgive me if it comes across as otherwise. I just couldn't resist writing this when I found out Owen and Hermann shared an actor, and come on, Newt would be such a whovian.

When Hermann catches his co-worker staring at him for the fifth time that day, he puts his chalk down, leans on his cane as he turns to face him, and fixes up the best glare of annoyance he can possibly muster. “Have you pinned something to my back?”

“What?” Newt looks up from the papers he has strewn all over a table, comparing some DNA results of a Kaiju sample with that of a blue whale, going by the diagrams on some of the sheets. It's midday, nearly lunch time, and they've been in the lab since six.

“One of those supposedly hilarious notes that say “Kick me” and “Point and laugh” that cartoon sociopaths pin to the backs of their peers. You're staring at me, either you've committed some similar prank on me, or you're doing it simply to unnerve me, and the latter option is too subtle and mentally manipulative for your style.”

Newt puts his pen down and rolls his eyes. “Dude, when have I _ever_ pulled a prank like that? That's Tendo's style if anything, he loves The Simpsons.”

Hermann ignores the pop culture reference he only half-understands and rests both hands on his cane, staring his labmate down accusingly. “So you do admit to staring at me then?”

“Don't be so paranoid, it's nothing sinister.” Newt shrugs and rests his chin in his hand, his elbow smudging some of the pencil sketches he's made of a Kaiju lung. The good British manners in Hermann tell him to snap at his younger co-worker to get his elbow off the desk (everything about him annoys him _so_ much), but manages to resist the urge. Newt is avoiding looking into his eyes, as though embarrassed by what he's about to say. “I just noticed today your hair's been growing out.”

“That doctorate in biology was truly well deserved,” Hermann says sarcastically, his defences going up. He walks back to his desk and pops his glasses back on his nose, opening his laptop up to check some results. He hopes his disinterest will persuade Newt not to carry on with the mockery of his appearance that was no doubt coming, but Newt gets up, crosses the yellow line drawn on the floor, and leans against his desk in a casual manner, as though attempting to carry on a friendly conversation. The light and innocent tone his words carry furthers the illusion.

“No, dude, I just mean, you're usually more anal about getting it cut, but we've been busy and neither of us have been to the hairdresser and it's the first time I've seen it grown this long. I was just staring because I was thinking it makes you sort of look like Owen from Torchwood.”

Hermann sighs and looks up from his computer screen. “And what, pray tell, is Torchwood?”

“You don't know?”

“I don't watch much television, you know that. Enlighten me.”

Newt gets that excited spark in his eye that he gets when he's about to go on a fanboy rant about some comic book or obscure 80's rock band and Hermann regrets the decision to carry on the conversation, but only a little, because as annoying as the biologist is, he's fascinating to watch when he gets passionate about something. “Well it's a spin-off of Doctor Who, you know Doctor Who at least?”

“I'm English, Newton. Of course I know Doctor Who.”

“...Was that a joke?”

“Half of one.”

Newt grins widely. “You made half a joke! The German bits in you are finally getting the sticks out of their asses.”

“Do you mind not using such vulgar expressions?” Hermann grimaces. “And you do realise you're German as well?”

“Yeah, but I'm a fun jolly Oktoberfest sort of German, you're the German guy who goes on about the futility of life in a black and white expressionist film, unless the Germany in us has nothing to do with it and it's just because I was in America and you were in England. Hey, do you think if I'd moved to England and you'd gone to America instead we would have each other's personalities? That would be weird. I hate scratchy sweaters.”

As long as he had known him, Hermann had never understood Newt's logic. He was insane, to put it bluntly, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) he was also a genius, and his imaginative and nonsensical train-of-thought style of speaking was what lead to many a great idea, despite the annoying way it was delivered. “Stereotypes are not a thing to rely on, Newton, I don't think where we were raised had that big an impact on our base personalities.”

Newt hops up to sit on the desk, his legs dangling slightly as he stared thoughtfully into space. “It would affect our accents though. Can you imagine me with your accent?”

“Get off my desk.”

Newt snorts.“You look like Owen but you definitely aren't him. Anyway, you like Doctor Who? Seriously? Isn't it a bit... unrealistic?”

“I... I was certainly a fan of it as a child,” he admitted. “The classic series was off the air at that time of course, but I enjoyed reruns of it. As for realism, after seeing giant monsters emerge from the ocean, I don't think the sci-fi genre is too far off from reality these days.”

“That's true.” Newt lets out a laugh. “I should show you the revival, it's great, I have it all on DVD except for the 18th Doctor, she's still on the air and I'm waiting for the box set. Anyway, the Doctor had this companion in the first series, right, his name is Jack Harkness, he was so asskickingly awesome he got his own spin-off, and he works with this group of people in Wales and it had a guy called Owen in it, who you're currently stealing the haircut of. It was really sexy and gorey though, sort of like Doctor Who for adults, but maybe that's not the right expression, the show is good for adults already. Uh, Doctor Who for fans who like sex and gore with their sci-fi?”

Hermann looks away from his computer screen and peers up at Newt. “That sounds positively appalling.”

“You are _SO_ closed-minded!” Newt gestures wildly. “I loved that show, I wrote in angry letters when they killed off Jack's boyfriend! Do you know how hard it was back then to find a sci-fi show that doesn't star a generic straight guy?! I came out because of that show, dude, it's ground-breaking, don't diss it.”

Hermann blinks. Newt blinks as well, and the atmosphere turns awkward as the younger scientist realises what he said. Hermann coughs. “You, um, came out, then?”

Newt makes a face. “Dude, it's 2024, I know you're religious and all but don't tell me that sort of stuff weirds you out.”

“Of course it doesn't! I just... didn't know you were... Er...?”

“Bisexual.”

“Right, I didn't know that about you.”

“Well, I'm too busy to go out and date lately and we never talk.”

“That's because whenever we talk we argue.”

“Only about science.” Newt folds his arms and looks away. “When we aren't talking about Kaiju we get along fine, or we could if we tried. I get tired of hating you all the time.”

The mathematician exhaled in exasperation and took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Newton, neither of us are here to form personal relationships. Such a thing happening between two people of such... clashing personalities, takes time, effort and energy. Our job comes first, so long as our dislike for each other cuts off short of actively trying to murder one another, I am simply not interested in bonding with you while the world is at stake.”

The words are harsh, even for him, and Hermann feels a flash of guilt, but it's the truth and he doesn't want to take the words back. Newt's face is calm, but there's some sort of angry heat behind his eyes. He gets down off the desk. “You're a real asshole you know that?”

“And you're an immature Kaiju groupie who has no idea how the world works!”

“Fuck off, dude.” The biologist throws his hands in the air in frustration and heads back over to his side of the lab. Despite his own words, Hermann feels a twinge of something similar to regret in the pit of his stomach, but he squashes it down, denies its existence, and nothing changes between them.

 

-

 

 


End file.
